Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1887-04-02
PIONEERS OF PEMBINA.
THE BOB RULYS" AND "RoR
LONGS" OF RED RIVER.
HE Hunters of 1S59-Sioux and Chin
Peway War-Rapid Development of
Northwest Observation-Disclosures. Zee
Ianders, Britons and Scandinavians.
Especial Correspondence


ST.. THOMAS, D. T., March IA.
In July, 1859, on the banks of Rum river.
Minnesota, first saw the Bots Brules of Red
rive: on their annual march to st. Paul. The
first train OF the season contained $50 two
wheeled carts, each drawn by two little oxen.
and piled high with the furs and skins of the
previous winters hunt. Here and there along
the line were mounted hunters or agents
among them three white Britons and perhans
dozen full blooded Chippeways; but on each
cart was perched half breed driver. generally
OF French-Indian blood, but often with a dash
of Scotch or English. The cart was a str1dv.
From neck yoke to wheel and from king bolt
to Inch pin it was entirely of wood: wet Of
mornings by the dews. dried by the heat of
the day and often soaked in the streams and
marshes crossed, it was a model of artistic
clumslness. As the last few days travel was
made in haste and without oiling I'D. the an
proach OF the train was announced for mile
or more in advance, as each wheel maintained
wailing, creechy-crawchy, creechy- craw-a
cry Tor grease that set the strangers teeth
on edge.
The drivers of these carts were the Bots
Brules or Burnt Woods" of Pembina and
Manitoba-one of the very few perma-
nent classes created by the mixture of eau
casian and Indian. In fact, 1 believe these
half breeds and the brown Mestizoes of Mex
leo are the only permanent types of mixed
Indian blood. To those of French extraction
the name Bots Brule was first applied in good
humored raillery, and similarly they called
thclr white neighbors Bots Blancs white
Woods. Now in the Canadian patois these
phrases are pronounced bwah broolay and
bWah blon(g)-as nearly as one can present
the sound in English letters. So our pioneers
made faint attempt at the French of it, and
then called them Bob Ruly and Bob Longl
There is good deal of this ingenious mutila-
ton in the west. Thus a certain southwestern
stream was named by the Spaniards Rio de
las Animas River of Souls, which the French,
coming after them, briefly translated Purga-
toire (Purgatory river; the Americans caught
the French sound after fashion, and call the
stream the Picketwire!
The Sioux and Chippeways were still at
war in 1859. Only year before they had a
battle in the very suburbs of Shakopee, and
vague report reached us in Wright county
in July that band of Chippeways had just
been surprised and massacred not far north
west of st. Cloud For many years the
proves of the great Paha Goonsey, the red
Napoleon of the northwest, kept the Sioux in
awe; but he was dead, and the Chippeways'
time had come to give ground. So the few
who came with these trains took care to stay
with their white and half breed friends. All
this region was but vaguely known to the
Minnesotian of the south; though well read
men knew, of course, that Selkirk, the Scotch
nobleman, had established a colony here early
in the century, and that few of his people
remained, though most had gone north after
the survey proved them to be in the United
States
The Sioux war of 1862 caused a general
forward movement up here, and as early as
30 steamers made regular trips on Red
river. Then came the Northern Pacific which
erossed that stream in September, 1872, and